The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

 

Image credit: Dymocks

Metaficton or tongue-in-cheek allusions to something’s self-awareness as a piece of fiction is a concept I’ve always found fascinating. And clearly other people do too because it’s something that gets explored and have attention drawn to all the time, indeed in some of my favourite pieces: Scream, Stranger Than Fiction, Deadpool and, most recently, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

The book tells the story of a young woman who flees from a forced wedding and makes a Faustian deal with a shadowy god. She wants more time, and freedom. She gets immortality with the downside being that no one she meets ever remembers her. For three hundred years Addie LaRue has been a friend, muse, and lover to many artists, helping them leave their mark on the world whilst being forgotten with each new day. That is until she meets Henry, who remembers her. Suddenly life is beginning again for Addie and she is getting to experience the joy of a relationship that lasts more than one night. But the Devil’s in the details and Addie can’t help but wonder if this is really love or another ploy to claim her soul.

The love-triangle of the artist, Faustian deal, and immortality is as old as the hills and still as solid considering that it’s now almost a universally shared thought that art is as close to immortality as humans can get. Addie LaRue, in something of a Forrest Gump type of way, treads this well-worn path but treats its readers to a number of delightful back alleyways that would have otherwise been missed. The romantic nature of the story coupled with the quirky and ironic fact that the protagonist is actually a supporting character for so many other stories, is what gives the book its compelling power. 

V. E. Schwab takes a well-known and recognisable narrative and twists, turns, and stretches it as far as it will go, like taffy or Play-Doh, until it finally settles into a really fascinating (if sometimes still predictable) love story. Jumping between past and present, a la The Time Traveller’s Wife, we are treated to a series of narratives that all, inevitably, intertwine to lead to a teasing and hopeful(?) conclusion. 

Image credit: Goodreads

The prose is simple and poetic, heavy on imagery to try and bring vibrancy to the mundane, which I guess can sometimes get a little pretentious and annoying, but for the most part is just nice and easy to read and picture. While our central characters certainly (for me at least) leave a bit to be desired, the external strangeness of their narrative is what compels you to read on. Addie’s character journey in particular is rather interesting as she mentally comes to realise that her deal has made her something other than human and it’s fun when those moments for ethical and philosophical contemplation come up. If you could live forever, but no one remembered you, how would you live? Schwab comes up with some interesting barriers and trials that come with Addie’s curse and it’s very cool to read and imagine yourself in Addie’s shoes.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a good read, an original twist on a timeless tale, flavoured with sweet romance and peppery pops of ethical and philosophical exploration. It’s thought provoking, romantic, dramatic, and compelling, and I quite enjoyed it.

Author: V. E. Schwab, 2020

Published: Titan Books, London, 2020.